Being the father he is, being busy as usual out and about – I called him next. He seemed somewhat surprised but at the same time being very happy for me. I suppose the surprising part is that he probably didn’t expect it any sooner since we had been together for some time.

The next people in line was my sisters and brother. Whilst one sister was already thinking about wedding plans i.e. venues, time etc. The other was screaming down the phone with Awe. It’s not her personality to be doing that, so for me it was a special moment. Then the other sister crying and sobbing on the phone, I reassured her that I’m still alive and still talking to her. The brother seem expressionless, but I suppose boys will be boys. But also happy that his comment was a fruitful one – I’ve known your boyfriend half my life and now he’s finally my brother in law. I’ll take that as a compliment.

The next was my extended family. They are people who I cherish in my life. By the way we have a whats app group together and that’s how I announce it all in one go. These days it’s just so convenient. I remember the conversation along the line was I gave them a small quiz. So took a decent picture of me and my finance and added a quotation “We would like to announce and share with our love ones our next chapter in life…what will it be?” A. Pregnant B. Engaged C. Moving to Hong Kong.

Since my siblings was in this conversation they said “I’m gonna be an auntie”. So apparently I’m pregnant! Nonetheless, after all the debate someone put a picture of a ring. That’s when I revealed that I am happy and engaged.

Moving on, my truest close friends were on the list. I wish they were in UK but thank god that there is whatsapp. Managed to have a phone conversation with the girls over the phone in Costa. These are the people who has seen our relationship develop from the beginning. Though at the point of talking and catching up in general, we can just talk all day. At that point my finance was hissing at me that I’m very loud. So truth be told, I quickly ended the conversation because I also had something to say to my finance “Happy Birthday”.

He said it was his goal that before he turns 28 he wanted to propose to me, so without even thinking that our engagement will steal the light of his Birthday he decided to propose to me. He is a very unselfish man, which is one aspect I like about him.

Our last place to announce was facebook and to be honest the next few days after the proposal was overwhelming we have had a lot of blessings from friends and family. And this is what makes life extra special.

The experience of announcing an engagement has been one that has shown me love. One that has let me know that those close to me – family and friends are truly giving me blessings. By letting them know, it also means you would like them to be part of your life. I did it in the particular order of relatives as it shows the level of respect to each other.

I was still trying to sink in that I am no longer single or even have a boyfriend but a beloved finance. At that point in time, I was nervously excited for this reality and future. Taking life in a new direction that I never thought I would be in. It was a fairy tale that I once read in books. And did not believe that one day it could happen to me. Obviously, this was an emotional moment for me.

But I was also excited to announce this engagement to my close family and friends. In my mind I knew exactly who I wanted to tell. I had a particular order, not because I have a fixated mindset but it was important to me that people who I was dearly close with, knew first.

The obvious answer was I wanted to let the most precious women in my life know first. This women is strong and full of love and wisdom of words. She made me grow as a person and taught me how to love. But at the time of the engagement she was admitted to hospital. When I tried calling her at that moment of the engagement, it was obviously quite late coming to midnight. She didn’t pick up.

I was quite disappointed and Sad. I also started to worry if she was okay in the hospital on her own. I also know how much she did not like staying in hospitals.

Nonetheless, my finance reassured me that we should call her first thing in the morning. The reassurance did me good because the next day I called her again – And I can honestly say that she was a happy bumble bee. She has always asked about my marriage with this man for the last 8 years I have been with him. The good thing is that she does not ask constantly but at times when she asks you and the only reply I have is ‘nothings happening grandma’ – her face drops with disappointment. Then the next times she asks, I reply ‘try again next time’. So when I told her for real this time I was in tears, I can now finally say ‘I’m engaged’. Now her next question is ‘when are the babies coming out?’, I reply ‘try again next time’.

But also that night, we headed back to my finance’s parent or rather my in-laws as that was were we were staying that night. I showed them the ring and they smirked because they knew exactly what was to happen that night. A few minutes of having a conversation with them, I took the ring off to go for an emergency toilet. The in-laws was quite curious why I would take the ring off. I explained to them that the ring will rust if I wash my hands after using the toilet. They laughed and chuckled for quite a while – I was wondering at that point what I was missing. His father replied ‘If the ring rusts you know its fake, you should give it a try’. I was a little embarrassed at that moment, silly me…anyway 5 minutes later I gave the ‘rust test’ a try. To my surprise….I’ll let you fill in the gap.

So after the phone conversation with my beloved grandma, I called the house to let my granddad, father and mother know. It wasn’t in that particular order, but you get the gist. Elders first then parents. The house phone didn’t actually work but I manage to do a video chat. The first thing I saw was a pair of yellow marigolds – my mother was actually doing some cleaning around the house and looked a bit hectic. I told her to put them gloves away and find a quite place to chat. Well, she insisted that she is quite happy talking to me with the gloves on. If you knew my mother well, she never stops working around the house. I suppose the yellow marigolds was a bold statement for her. When I broke the news, you can see that big white teeth and smile. She looked like she was getting ready for a cleaning advert. She showed granddad, although he can’t really remember me he said ‘Congratulations, you are the 6th grandchild to get married’. By the way, he is still counting since he has a total of 20 grandchildren to go. He used to count how many passed their driving tests, graduated from university, dating someone and now getting married. We all know he will be counting how many of his grandchild will give him a great grandchild and so it continues.